Thursday, August 13, 2009

Projects 90

The exhibition opens with the idea that Asians back in the day were taught to conserve and be frugal in spending. The older generation understands such concept and take it to heart. Compared to the current mindset of Asia's young generation, being spendthrift is nothing but a fading concept. The coarse of development has brought Asia far and influences from all over the world has become yet another accessible luxury for them. The idea of consumer culture in early days compared to what it is today is very different. Today consuming is all disposable, nothing is kept; at least not for too long. In Projects 90, currently exhibiting at the MoMa, Song Dong shakes things up as he lays out what's in his mother's home and how she was raised. Save everything, throw nothing is basically what consumption was all about for the mother's generation. One might say: how does she do it? It is surprising how much she has under her roof! Trust me on this, I was blown away when I was walking through it. After the husband passed away, Song Dong's mother was left in sorrow and as we all know, the only way to let it go by is by letting it go. Everything in there is just another memory, another memorabilia that will take her back in time. This project was done for the sake of helping the mother through the process of recovery and gaining her happiness back.

Check out the collaborative project exhibiting at MoMa when you get the chance. It will run through September 7th 2009. There will be an upcoming gallery talk about the exhibition on Sunday, September 6th at 1:30PM with Midori Yamamura. Click here for more information.